ahope, I am following your thread with great interest... I just got back from a trip up to Oregon and back from Sacramento, with a lovely return along the coast. I swapped on a new rear rotor just prior to the trip (famous last words) to replace the old one that was thinned beyond spec -- also threw in new pads. Everything felt good on the way North!
On the return trip, I noticed around Crescent City that there was a slight drag in the rear. I got distracted by a bunch of construction traffic and I didn't think about it again until Arcata (it was a pretty minor drag). When I put the big girl up on her center stand, and popped the left bag off, the excessive disc brake powder triggered immediate concern. There was definitely a drag when I hand-turned the wheel, but nothing close to lockup. Pads were over half gone (in ~700 miles!), and the brake rotor and pistons looked heat-discolored. I figured the heat damage was done, and slow-speed testing worked out OK, so with 300 miles left before home, I decided to push on carefully and see if the dragging worsened. If I could get within 100 miles of home, AAA would deliver me the rest of the way.
I thought about stopping in Ukiah and raiding a hardware store to replace the rear caliper banjo bolts with a solid bolt (effectively killing those hydraulic circuits), but the drag condition didn't seem to worsen, so I kept on. I babied the brakes and used engine braking and the clutch enough that I only needed to hit the rear pedal slightly just three times in 300 miles... hardly enough to cycle the SMC I thought (hoped?). I still enjoyed the twisties, but I wasn't pushing AT ALL. Honestly, it was kinda fun in an entirely different way than normal.
I parked the ST when I got home and have been commuting a VFR until I get more time to put the ST1300 on the lift table. With the heat discoloration, I'll be checking the dimensions on the rear caliper pistons and runout on the rotor... and I reckon its time to bleed the brakes, as I have little trust in cooked fluid. The SMC is suspect as well, but I haven't given it much more than a wiggle. With multiple VFRs and now an ST, Honda's interlinks brakes have been good to me for many miles. I've maintained pads, a rotor, and brake fluid -- this is the first real challenge I've had.
Do post up on your progress when you get a chance, ahope... in the meantime, I'll be reading up on ST1300 tech articles. There's some great stuff at this site!
Randii (long-time lurker)
On the return trip, I noticed around Crescent City that there was a slight drag in the rear. I got distracted by a bunch of construction traffic and I didn't think about it again until Arcata (it was a pretty minor drag). When I put the big girl up on her center stand, and popped the left bag off, the excessive disc brake powder triggered immediate concern. There was definitely a drag when I hand-turned the wheel, but nothing close to lockup. Pads were over half gone (in ~700 miles!), and the brake rotor and pistons looked heat-discolored. I figured the heat damage was done, and slow-speed testing worked out OK, so with 300 miles left before home, I decided to push on carefully and see if the dragging worsened. If I could get within 100 miles of home, AAA would deliver me the rest of the way.
I thought about stopping in Ukiah and raiding a hardware store to replace the rear caliper banjo bolts with a solid bolt (effectively killing those hydraulic circuits), but the drag condition didn't seem to worsen, so I kept on. I babied the brakes and used engine braking and the clutch enough that I only needed to hit the rear pedal slightly just three times in 300 miles... hardly enough to cycle the SMC I thought (hoped?). I still enjoyed the twisties, but I wasn't pushing AT ALL. Honestly, it was kinda fun in an entirely different way than normal.
I parked the ST when I got home and have been commuting a VFR until I get more time to put the ST1300 on the lift table. With the heat discoloration, I'll be checking the dimensions on the rear caliper pistons and runout on the rotor... and I reckon its time to bleed the brakes, as I have little trust in cooked fluid. The SMC is suspect as well, but I haven't given it much more than a wiggle. With multiple VFRs and now an ST, Honda's interlinks brakes have been good to me for many miles. I've maintained pads, a rotor, and brake fluid -- this is the first real challenge I've had.
Do post up on your progress when you get a chance, ahope... in the meantime, I'll be reading up on ST1300 tech articles. There's some great stuff at this site!
Randii (long-time lurker)
.
I'd rather not repeat it.